A fierce gunbattle broke out between militants and security forces in Sugoo Hendhama area of South Kashmir's Shopian district on Wednesday. Four terrorists have been killed in the encounter so far. The operation is still on.

Reports said that a joint team of Police, Army's 44 RR and CRPF launched a cordon-and-search-operation in Sugoo Hendhama on Wednesday morning, which ensued in a gunbattle.

A spokesperson of the Indian Army in Kashmir said, "3 terrorists were killed in the encounter in Sugoo area of Shopian district. The joint operation was launched at 01:45 am today based on J&K Police intelligence. Cordon was laid and contact was established at 05:30 am. The joint operation in still in progress."

In a later update, a fourth terrorist was also reported to have been killed in the encounter.

Internet services have also been snapped in the district as a precautionary measure.

Inspector General of Police Kashmir Zone Vijay Kumar told India Today TV that terrorists have been killed in the operation. However, he also said that the identity of the slain terrorists were yet to be ascertained.

As the joint team of security forces approached the suspected spot of hiding, the terrorists fired upon them. The fire was retaliated by the joint team, triggering off an encounter.

A senior police officer confirmed to India Today TV that the exchange of fire between the joint team and the terrorists started early morning.

This is third encounter in Shopian district this week. 9 militants were killed in two encounters on Sunday and Monday.

(With inputs from Shuja ul Haq, Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu)